The present invention relates to electrical system monitoring and control devices.
Circuit breakers and fuses are the sole control interface and monitoring equipment most buildings have, especially homes. However, the circuit breakers and fuses are unable to monitor the current state of the system, provide maintenance reminders, or monitor for inefficiencies or anomalies within the building. Furthermore, circuit breakers are known to have a high failure rate, which can result in injury to people or damage to property such as electrical failures, fires, and damage to or destruction of appliances and electronics. When circuit breakers are operational, each breaker may be triggered to turn off an important circuit when a homeowner is away. Sometimes these circuits may need to be reset, but the homeowner is unable to do so. One such time is when an owner is on vacation but the circuit controlling a pet's water fountain, or a fish tank's aerator and filter are tripped causing them to remain unpowered until the owner's return. Another is when a child is left in the care of a grandparent who may injure themselves attempting to reset a circuit breaker because the lights went out.
Commonly missed electrical anomalies and problems in a building include faults to ground, loose wiring connections, frayed wiring and/or defective switching components, voltage spikes and surges. Due to the limited nature of circuit breakers they are unable to diagnose these problems and even when they do trigger and mechanically sever the circuit, the circuit breakers are unable to gather and store information as to what caused the issue. Furthermore, circuit breakers are unable to provide information or recommendations as to what improvements may be made to a building's electrical system. Therefore, there exists a need for a device which can monitor and control the electrical system of a building, provide recommendations and allow for remote testing and resetting of the buildings circuits.